KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) - Andy Roddick resisted the impulse to retreat. Instead, finding himself overpowered by Rafael Nadal, Roddick began to charge the net.
"It's kind of like driving into head-on traffic," Roddick said.
Though counterintuitive, the tactic worked, and Roddick rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Friday.
Once Roddick fell behind, he became more aggressive, even following his second serve to the net on occasion. Momentum turned when he won the last 11 points of the second set, including a 143-mph serve - fastest of the tournament - for a winner on the final point to even the match. In the other semi, 16th-seeded Tomas Berdych, who advanced by beating Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-2.
Berdych upset top-ranked Roger Federer in the fourth round.
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Key Biscayne, Fla.
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
Singles: Men Semifinals
Andy Roddick (6), United States, def. Rafael Nadal (4), Spain, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Tomas Berdych (16), Czech Republic, def. Robin Soderling (5), Sweden, 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles: Men Semifinals
Mahesh Bhupathi, India, and Max Mirnyi (4), Belarus, def. Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski (8), Poland, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Women Semifinals
Nadia Petrova, Russia, and Sam Stosur (3), Australia, def. Chan Yung-jan, Taiwan, and Zheng Jie, China, 6-1, 7-5.